#ewew tries AK Noodles Instant Laksa Bihun

Ah Koong (or AK) Noodles is a regular place of ours when we wish to eat fishball noodles (soup for me and dry for my family) with a side of yong tau foo.  They also offer curry and tomyam noodles with more or less the same liew (ingredients) you'd find in a bowl of their fishball noodles.  I've never tried their tomyam noodles but had their curry noodles before once (let's just say it isn't quite my definition of a proper bowl of curry mee).

In one of our visits here, I noticed that they also sell their own brand of AK Instant Laksa (or Curry) Bihun. They come in a pack of 5 for RM31 or RM6.50 for one individual pack.  Not cheap as far as instant noodles is concerned (almost the cost of a fresh bowl of noodles!).  I was curious to see if it's any good, so I bought one pack to try.

The contents of the packet included dried meehoon (a good portion size at 125g), a (cooked) sambal paste, coconut milk/cream (santan in powdered form) and a chilli powder (that comes with a warning...put at your own risk!).  I emptied the sambal, santan and chilli powder satchets into boiling water and cooked the bihun for about 4 minutes (as per instructions on the packet).  You can eyeball it as to how soft you like your bihun.

The first time I had this I added some extra tofu puffs and AK's fried fishballs (these are their vacuum-packed fishballs which you can get online or from their restaurant).  The tofu puffs tasted great as they were the perfect ingredient to soak up all the flavours of the laksa.

Even though the sambal paste looked like a real sambal with its reddish chilli oil, I was surprised that there wasn't much of the oil in the finished product once the contents of the paste was dissolved/cooked.  This would be welcomed by those who don't like their curries too oily.

Overall, I thought the taste of the curry was very decent for an instant version.  It's a proper curry with a creamy taste of santan (not quite as fragrant as the taste of fresh santan of course but certainly very respectable for a powdered version).  It's unlike Maggi's curry which only has the taste like a spicy soup.

The second time I had this (I obviously liked what I ate and bought another packet when I visited AK again), I cooked it with some leftover prawns I had in the fridge, AK's fried fishballs (of course) and a few greens of dragon vegetables or ching loong choy (I had to make do with what I have in the fridge, they taste like spring onions anyway).

The first time I had this laksa, I didn't heed the warning and emptied all the chilli powder into the laksa. Although it was very nice this way, I couldn't drink more of the soup as it was a bit too spicy for me.  The next time I had it, I heeded the warning and refrained from putting all the chilli powder in (you can see the soup was a little paler).

Seeing that AK's instant laksa comes with bihun was already a plus point for me as I find bihun to be a more appropriate choice for laksa instead of the usual instant egg noodles.  I always have my curry laksa with meehoon + mee as I like how the bihun is able to absorb the flavours of the curry.  Finding remnants of the laksa paste (like real spices) sticking to the noodles (and at the bottom of the bowl) made it felt like I was eating the real deal.

This AK brand is now my current go-to instant laksa noodles.....and one of three brands of instant noodles you'll find in my pantry...for now! ;)  The other two being the Korean Ottogi Spicy Jin Ramen and our old faithful of Maggi Curry which has our continous loyal support.  Anyway, I need our old faithful to make Maggi Mee Goreng (+ my husband and son are easily contented with eating this brand dry-style).

Haiya, nowadays even the usual brands of instant noodles from supermarkets can't cut it for me....I need restaurant-qualtiy atas brands to satisfy my instant noodles fix..lol.  Whenever I dine at Ah Koong, I almost always pick up a packet....yes, just one packet will do, that's how to moderate intake lah (you can of course get them online in packets-of-five from Ak's own platform or other shopping sites).

If you love to eat curry mee, then this instant version may be something you might want to consider stocking up as part of your pantry staples for those late nights curry fix! ^_~

#ewew tries Ottogi Instant Noodles

I recently came to be acquainted with this particular brand of instant noodle after our first visit to Don Dwae Ji Sam Gyeob Sal where we had a super enjoyable Korean BBQ meal.

Since our meal was so satisfying, not to mention great value for money, it was easily predictable that we would return again at some point (and we did...and this time my husband came along too).

The All-You-Can-Eat Korean BBQ was still at a great price of RM29.90+ (drinks not included) on our second visit.....and still as good too.

The same banchan was served but instead of the usual ten, one was noticeably missing...the Korean-style hard-boiled (or soy-marinated) eggs (must be due to the shortage of eggs we had at one time...lol).

Oh well, as long as our favourite banchans, the sweetish, fragrant nuts and exceedingly juicy pickled radish are still among them, we're content.  These two, we asked for refills, of course.  In fact, these are the very two banchans that are bottled up for sale.  So you can get a jar and bring the flavours home with you.

We managed one refill of each type of meat...the non-marinated meats (of pork belly and pork shoulder loin except the sausages) and marinated meats (of pork and spicy chicken) coz my husband was present to help this time).

We also made sure we got refills of onions, garlic and green chillies coz those (when grilled) are great accompaniments to the meats.

My husband's favourite meat was the spicy marinated chicken (coz meats that are marinated are so much tastier, he said) while my son and I prefer the fragrant, charred pork belly.

Not only did we manage a refill of each type of meat, we also asked for a refill of the ramyeon (Korean-style spicy instant noodles) which we loved the first time round.  And that brings us to the subject matter (or focus) of this post...the instant noodles!

When settling the bill, we were able to take a peek and noticed that the brand of instant noodles used was none other than the Spicy Jin Ramen by Ottogi.

They can be found selling at Family Mart sometimes....and I'm sure they're in some supermarkets too but I find it most convenient to buy them from Shopee.  They come in a packet-of-five and retails for around RM15.90.

Its net weight of 120g means it's a bigger portion size than our Maggi (Big) instant noodles.  I find the portion just right (on its own) as a supper snack and even enough as a meal replacement when we feel like eating something light.

Of course, even more convenient is to get them in the cup noodles packaging but this we have to fork out more lah...about RM5 for one.  I stock both versions in my pantry.

Each packet of noodles comes with a (dehydrated) veggies mix (of green onions, shiitake and carrot) and a (powdered) soup mix.  For the cup noodle form, the dried veggies are already in the cup with the noodles, so you just need to empty the soup mix.

Pour hot boiling water up to the level indicated in the paper cup, close the lid, let it steep for 4 minutes...and your noodles will be cooked just right.

This is obviously for the nights when you're hungry for a supper snack and the words "washing up" is not in your vocabulary.

On days when I don't feel like cooking and want to make this as a meal replacement, I would cook it on the stove top so that I can add extra ingredients.  Cook the noodles as per instructions given on the packet and you'll end up with a noodle that's slightly chewy in texture.  I don't even bother to loosen them up with chopsticks while they're in the pan and it still comes out great.

This bowl of noodles I made with added fried egg, (restaurant-quality) fried fish cake and bok choy.....a pretty complete bowl of goodness that's super filling and satisfying.  I love the deep, rich and spicy flavours of the broth (made from beef bone stock reportedly).

This one is more simple with just (restaurant-quality) fried fish balls and daikon radish, finished with a spoonful of (store-bought) fried shallots.  I've actually never thought of adding radish before but since that was the only veggie I had in my fridge, I had to make do.

Surprisingly, it turned out to be a great choice as the softened radish soaked up all that lovely flavours of the spicy broth.  Since discovering this, adding radish to instant noodles has become more of a regular practice for me (plus radish can also keep way longer than greens).

The first time I made this, I held back on the soup mix and didn't put all in just in case it was too spicy...but it wasn't.  After that, I put everything in....it's actually quite spicy but a spiciness level I'm willing to tolerate.  Lagi pedas, lagi syiok...plus when it's pedas, it'll stop you from drinking up all the soup...which is a good thing, right? ;)

I love it for its chewy noodles and the deep, spicy flavours of the soup long before BTS' Jin's endorsement. Well, this instant noodle now has a legion of fans (obviously) and was reported to be sold out everywhere in Korea at one time (a predictable outcome when you have someone like a member of BTS as its brand ambassador!)...lol.

Now this Ottogi Instant Noodle is one of only two brands of instant noodles you're more likely to find in my pantry cupboards these days.  If you enjoy eating instant noodles in a spicy broth (like I do once in a while), you might want to consider giving this brand a go. ^.^

#ewew tries Indomie Salted Egg Noodles

Indomie is a very popular brand of instant noodles from Indonesia and some variations can be found in our Malaysian supermarkets as well.  Indomie Mi Goreng is probably one of the best known and most frequently eaten here.

I was recently given this Indomie Salted Egg Noodles bought directly from Indonesia to try.  Well, salted egg is like the 'in' flavour these days.  It's found on everything and anything....from salted egg yolk croissant to salted egg fried rice, salted egg squid or prawns, salted egg chips, salted egg pasta, salted egg buns, salted egg fries, you name it...they have it.  So, why not on instant noodles, right? ;)

On opening the packet, there were two sachets of seasoning, one contained the salted egg granules/powder together with ground chilli powder while the other sachet held some kind of dark sauce.

The noodles, at first glance, looked a lot flatter and wider than say our usual Maggi instant egg noodles that we get here.

The instructions said to boil the noodles for two minutes (not the usual three) before tossing into the flavoured seasoning.

I made sure I cooked it according to the instructions.  And then, toss, toss, mix, mix...and it's ready for eating! ^_~

My first mouthful of the noodles, I found the texture too soft even though I followed the cooking instructions to the tee and boiled the noodles for just two minutes.

Next, did I taste the salted egg in the noodles?  Hardly More like no.  I did smell it initially in the salted egg granules when I brought it close to my nose.

I also didn't quite like the flavour of the dark sauce the noodles were tossed in.  I'm not sure what went into the flavouring of the dark sauce (perhaps a combination of dark soy, light soy, maybe oyster, hoisin or some salted bean paste sauce?) but somehow the combination of flavours didn't work.

Eaten as a whole, the noodles felt starchy and lacked the flavour of salted egg.  I wonder if it was the salted egg powder that made the noodles have this starchy and sticky mouthfeel (as salted egg tends to be).

In the end, I may love all many things salted egg but I guess Indomie Salted Egg Noodles won't be one of them...or perhaps this one just didn't cut it! :P

#ewew tries Red Chef Sakura Prawn Noodles

I was eager to try this brand of instant noodle after reading about it on world of buzz that it made it to the list of The Ramen Rater's Top Ten Instant Noodles for 2018.

In fact, 3 Malaysian brands were placed in the top ten....and the instant noodle that came in at No. 2 was this Red Chef's Spicy Sakura Prawn Soup Noodles.  The other two being CarJEN Nyonya Curry Laksa (at #4) and (again) Red Chef Tom Yum Soup Noodles (at #6).

And you know how I love me prawn noodles, so it's a foregone conclusion that I must try, of course.

I bought this pack of Red Chef's Spicy Sakura Prawn Soup Noodles for RM10.39 and each pack contains four individual packets.

In each packet of noodles, you'd find a sachet each of seasoning powder, a cooked chilli paste and a garnishing of fried shallots.

On opening, the dark-coloured cooked chilli paste for the prawn broth looked really intense...and I was hoping for it to taste as good as it looked.  The paste reminded me of MyKuali's Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles as they look rather similar.

The instructions on how to cook this seemed rather odd to me.  They'll ask you to cook the noodles first in boiling water while the paste, seasoning powder and fried shallots are added to a separate bowl.  You're supposed to remove the cooked noodles and pour it into the bowl.  

I chose to cook it differently as I wasn't sure if the paste would dissolve adequately if done following the instructions on the package.  So I did it the usual way (as I would normally cook any instant noodles) and that is to boil the seasoning and paste first before adding the noodles.

I have to say the fried onions garnish was plentiful and generous...and the crunch of the fragrant shallots is all one needs to enjoy this packet of instant noodles in its most basic form.

Occasionally, I would add a fried egg that has been scrambled to bits to bring it up a notch for a fuller meal...and a fuller enjoyment! ^_~

The noodles are thicker than the norm, a little starchier and yielding a firmer chew.  When it comes to instant egg noodles, I have to hand it to Maggi...no-one can make it quite as springy-textured as they can.

But what is a bowl of prawn noodles without any prawns, right? :P

Or hard-boiled eggs.

So add them in for maximum satisfaction.

I'm not sure about the 'Sakura prawns' in the name of the noodles though...were Sakura shrimps actually used or was it to impress upon us the quality of prawns used in the paste for the broth? ;P

The broth did have an exceptionally strong prawn flavour with a fair amount of spiciness.  You can smell it even when the paste is cooking.

Though the soup base looked intense with its bright orange hue, it wasn't too oily and had a nice thickness to it.  The taste of this broth came the closest to that of a good prawn mee.  It's by far the best-tasting instant version of prawn mee I've had.

If you think MyKuali's Penang Hokkien Prawn Noodles was good....this one by Red Chef is even better! ^.^ It'll have to do when I need a prawn noodle fix at ungodly hours.

My search for a good instant prawn mee has finally come to a happy ending as it has led me to Red Chef's Spicy Sakura Prawn Soup Noodles.  For fans of tom yum (can't say I'm truly one), you might want to try their Tom Yum Soup Noodles that came in at #6.